St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia is exploring an alliance with Jefferson Health, Temple Health, and Nemours Children’s Health as the pediatric safety-net hospital searches for a sustainable path forward. The organizations have signed a nonbinding letter of intent to develop the proposed alliance, according to a statement St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children provided.
St. Christopher’s would remain jointly owned by Drexel University and Tower Health, which purchased the hospital out of bankruptcy in a $50 million deal in 2019. This is not a merger, acquisition, or ownership change, each organization recognizes the irreplaceable role St. Christopher’s has played for more than 150 years in caring for children and families and supporting the health and well-being of the community.
As this work moves forward, the organizations will explore opportunities to collaborate in support of a shared commitment to caring for the whole child – from providing high-quality clinical care to advancing education, prevention, nutrition, community outreach, and other services that help give every child the opportunity for a healthier future. They will preserve St. Christopher’s community-focused mission while strengthening its operations and coordinating patients’ care across the participating organizations.
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Nemours would provide advanced specialty care when clinically appropriate. The hospital’s board chair, P. Sue Perrotty, said the goal is to preserve what makes St. Christopher’s so special while strengthening its operations, so the community-focused mission will endure. Perrotty noted that the alliance will expand access to specialized pediatric services, strengthen physician recruitment, enhance research and education, and support key clinical programs that will immediately benefit patients.
St. Christopher’s serves a patient population that is heavily dependent on Medicaid, with approximately 85% of its patients covered by Medicaid, which the hospital has said is the highest percentage of children covered by Medicaid among U.S. children’s hospitals.
In 2022, participating organizations committed nearly $50 million, and a second funding package announced in 2024 provided approximately $30 million over two years. The second package included commitments from Jefferson Health, Temple Health, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and private donors. St. Christopher’s said in 2024 that its fundraising had increased from $500,000 in fiscal 2020 to more than $4 million in fiscal 2024.
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The hospital also hired 283 employees during fiscal 2024, including 117 nurses and 17 physicians, allowing it to open additional beds and accept more trauma and critical-care transfers. This growth is notable, as children’s hospitals face particular financial challenges due to their dependence on Medicaid reimbursement.
Other children’s hospitals, such as Akron Children’s Hospital and Children’s Mercy Kansas City, also face significant financial challenges due to their reliance on Medicaid reimbursement. For instance, Akron Children’s Hospital receives more than half of its reimbursement from Medicaid, while Children’s Mercy Kansas City has said that Medicaid accounts for at least half of its reimbursement. However, Children’s Mercy Kansas City has been able to find ways to manage the financial impact by participating in managed Medicaid value-based arrangements.
It remains to be seen how the proposed alliance will impact the hospital and its patients.